Change commenced double garage/annex to dwelling along with CIL concerns

[mfleet]

Hi All,

 

I am hoping for a little advice if possible.

 

History

 

1. Planning approval granted in Jan 2021 for a double garage with home office/ancillary accommodation above. This is within a conservation area on the outskirts of a village in Cornwall. Conditions were 3 year start, development to be carried out in accordance with the plans and finally that "The annexe accommodation as indicated on Drawing No xxx and xxx shall only be used as ancillary accommodation and for purposes incidental to the residential use of the dwelling known as xx. The annexe shall only be occupied by members of the family or non-paying guests of the occupiers of the dwelling known as xxx, and shall not be used at any time as an independent residential unit of accommodation."
2. The site is approx 1/3 acre which currently has a 3 bedroom bungalow. Myself, my wife, 3 children and 2 dogs live in the bungalow and things are getting tight! Our intention was for our eldest son to have a bedroom above the garage meaning that the other two would have their own bedrooms within the bungalow. Much longer term, our intention was to extend the bungalow.
3. Aesthetically, the design of the approved garage is quite chalet bungalow style with dormer windows.
4. We had a bit of a battle with the LPA over CIL at the time of approval. As the whole building is <100sqm (98sqm to be exact), I thought this would fall under the minor development exemption. The LPA however insisted that only the garage part is classified as an extension and could therefore fall within the minor development exemption. They stated that the ancillary accommodation above the garage needed Form 8: Annex relief. Our concern was that the annex relief has certain disqualifying events. As however, our intention was to build the garage for ourselves and remain at the property long term, we accepted defeat and completed the relevant forms for the annex relief, accepting liability etc.
5. I believe the disqualifying events for the annex exemption are:
   • The use of the main dwelling for any purpose other than as a single dwelling;
   • The letting of the residential annex; or
   • The sale of the main dwelling or the residential annex, unless they are sold at the same time to the same person.
6. Building regs approval.
7. Commencement began in Dec 2023 to ensure that we did not lose the planning. We have since built up to the concrete slab which is where we have now paused.

 

Now

 

1. Due to several factors including changing circumstances, builder problems to date and affordability, we have decided to sell the existing bungalow/commenced garage and buy somewhere else that has the space we need outright.
2. We were going to list it all together as is (bungalow + garage slab) but due to the incomplete garage, we are going to limit our potential buyers to people who are prepared to complete the development. Fortunately however, we are in a fairly popular village which should help.
3. Additionally, it hit us that the garage footprint is actually quite large and the approved design already looks quite house like. We haven't spoken with an architect yet but we feel that it could be feasible to split the plot to create a new dwelling in place of the garage. This would result in shared access but there would be space for each dwelling to have its own driveway/turning space after the initial entry off the road.

 

Questions

 

1. If I were to sell the whole site together as is, what are CIL implications? As far as I can see, selling the main dwelling together with the "annex" would not be a disqualifying event for the annex relief. Please let me know if I am incorrect on this. Would we need to transfer the relief to the new buyer or is this unnesessary?
2. If we went down the route of splitting the plot, I'm assuming we would need a new full application (particularly due to the 3rd condition stating "shall not be used at any time as an independent residential unit of accommodation"). We would need to make some design changes of course such as replacing the double garage doors with windows. Where would that leave us regarding the CIL if we got approval? Would the CIL annex liability relating to the original application become void and we (or the future buyer) could apply for a Self Build Exemption instead against the new dwelling's application? Alternatively would the original assumed liability stand regardless meaning that we would cause a disqualifying event (by selling the annex separately), have to pay circa £20k CIL and not be able to apply for the Self Build Exemption? This would of course make this option unviable financially for use and a future buyer.
3. For Capital Gains, I understand that providing we sell the garage plot first, we would automatically get Private Residence Relief (PRR) as this would be considered a garden plot. Please let me know if I am incorrect. I think doing this, there are still things that we need to be careful of such as not dividing the plots with a a fence prior to sale.
4. Please let me know if you see any other pitfalls with either options.

 

Any thoughts greatly appreciated!

 

Many thanks

[DevilDamo]

What have the LPA’s CIL department advised as they can and are usually helpful in this regard?

[Alan Ambrose]

I think it’s unlikely to get separate PP as the LPA were v specific re ancilliary usage. No harm in trying but do you have the elapsed time to wait for PP and maybe to take to appeal? That is, can you wait or do you need to move sooner?

 

If this is a reasonably sized plot, you could carve it off under a separate title, sell your current place and apply for PP on the carved off plot at your leisure.

 

The NPPF changes may help - you probably need to ask a local planning consultant for a view. Lastly, I hate them, but you could sell all with an overage condition.